Page 98 of Act of Brotherhood
It hit Garth then that there were no signs of any of the hybrids. Not one body. Confused, he stared at Edee, who was clinging to Nicolette. Clara burst free from the SUV and joined the women, bear-hugging them.
Boomer grinned from ear to ear. “See. Told ya our women aren’t damsels in distress. Also, who knew Edee could light it up like that?”
Auberi raised his hand, covered in blood, and then glanced around, shrugging. “What? She came to me last week, asking for my assistance in figuring out what all was done to her and Brooke when they were held captive. The subject of fire came up.”
Striker’s jaw was hanging open as if he were in the process of catching flies. He looked at Edee, and then took a huge sidestep away from her and covered his groin. “Do nae be thinking of setting anything of mine on fire, she-devil.”
Edee looked up, and it was then Garth saw the tears on her face. All of the women were crying as they held each other. Clara leaned and whispered something to Nicolette. Garth watched his mate glance at him before breathing a large sigh of relief.
“You’re not hurt!” she exclaimed.
Garth touched his front, checking to be sure he wasn’t. He seemed to be all there.
Auberi snorted. “He is fine. The same cannot be said of his brother.”
Garth stiffened. “It had to be.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t make it any easier on you,” returned Auberi. “Go to your mate. She wishes to hug you, but girl power is winning out.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nicolette satin the van with Garth next to her, his arm locked around her waist, pinning her against his body. He kissed the top of her head while he continued to discuss exit routes with Boomer, who was driving the van. She knew the loss of his brother couldn’t be easy for him, but she didn’t bring it up. Not yet. It wasn’t the time.
The man in the passenger seat, the one named Auberi, continued to look back at her, each time staring at her like he wanted desperately to say something, but he remained silent. He was currently in a T-shirt that announced he had a stake and was willing to use it. Boomer had given him the shirt before they’d loaded into the van. Auberi had been soaked in blood and was forced to take off the expensive shirt he’d been in and don the T-shirt instead. He hadn’t looked pleased when he’d noticed the slogan. Boomer got great joy from it all, going so far as to take pictures with his phone.
Nicolette felt compelled to talk to Auberi too but didn’t know what to say. As she placed a hand on Garth’s muscular thigh, the man—or rather, vampire—in the front passenger seat watched the act and began to growl. It was low, but there.
“Och, we’re nae gonna have to pull you two apart again, are we?” asked Striker from the backseat of the van. His nose had finally stopped bleeding and from what Nicolette could tell, it didn’t look broken in the least. That or the man healed in the blink of an eye.
She gasped.
Did he heal that fast?
“Auberi, take a deep breath,” said Boomer, glancing over at the vampire.
“He does not need to touch her so much,” returned Auberi. It was the most she’d heard him say. She caught a hint of a French accent in his voice.
“You’re French?” she asked, spitting the question out like time was of the essence. Mostly she’d done so out of a case of nerves. How did one converse with a vampire?
Your uncle is supposedly one. Talking to him isn’t hard.
Auberi stopped with the menacing stare he’d been giving Garth and nodded. “I am.”
“Cool. I love France. My uncle used to take me there yearly. Sometimes we’d spend summer break there. He’s Greek, but he’s always been big on me understanding French culture and the language.” She offered a hint of a smile, still nervous around the man.
Garth kissed her temple, his arm remaining around her. “Beauty, I can sense you’re scared of him. He won’t hurt you.”
She stiffened. “I’m not scared of him. I know he won’t hurt me. I just don’t know what to say but I feel like I should be talking to him. I’m babbling.”
“Yer nae babbling, lass. Yer following what feels right. Yer heart recognizes who he is to you, as does yer vampire side,” said Striker from the back.
Nicolette whipped around fast to stare at the burly man. “What do you mean by that?”
He pursed his lips. “Was I nae supposed to tell her that bit?”
Boomer groaned. “He’s like taking a small child on an outing.”
“I’m not really a real vampire, am I?” she asked, feeling faint. “I’d know if I was one. I’d have fangs or something. I don’t drink blood. I’m not dead. I’m so not one of those things.”
